Mediterraneo (Gol Market, Khajuraho)

An Italian food shop that serves better food than most Italian Food Restaurants in Delhi NCR – our tastebuds had a superb time here.

facade of the restaurant

Address & other details:Ask any auto wallah to take u to the Gol Market – Its easy to spot Mediterraneo in that super tiny market.

Meal for 2: Rs. 600 onwards

YUMM lamb preparation @ Mediterraneo, Khajuraho

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

This Restaurant is advertised as an airconditioned Italian Restaurant with ‘Italian Chef & Dutch supervision’. The restaurant is located on the first floor – one has to enter a narrow alley to go upstairs. As we climbed up to the first floor, we realized that the Restaurant had 3 sections in it – First was an open area with cement tables (that were smartly colored) & plastic chairs.

Open air seating @ Mediterraneo, Khajuraho

The middle section had beamed ceiling like yester-years & stone slabs atop those (in place of a ‘dhalai’ cement ceiling). Ceiling fans hanging from the beams. At the end of the room was a wood & glass showcase as is commonly seen in people’s homes – this was full of small antiquities & wooden handicrafts. The walls had beautiful rustic indian pictures & paintings.

Non A/C middle section @ Mediterraneo, Khajuraho

Towards the end, there was an air conditioned restaurant section. Since we walked in at 12.00 noon, we asked the Guy at the Restaurant to guide us to the A/C section. He said with a very polite tone – ‘Sorry sir, we have not yet opened the A/C section as it is unviable for only 2 guests. As more & more people walk in, we will start the A/C. Request you to sit in the Middle section.’ He said this in a very open & informal way, with a lot of honesty – I appreciated the same.

We sat in the middle section. Surprisingly it was good – even after 3-4 hours of walking in the sun seeing the historical monuments in Khajuraho. On a later visit, we saw a large cooler being brought in as well. The view was not bad & the place was quite airy too.

While climbing up I had noticed a washroom at the ground floor – it was however on lock & keys. I figured out much later that for using the washroom I had to ask the staff – they wud give a key & I wud have to use the washroom, lock it back & return the keys upstairs!!!

The staff was very polite & warm. I came to know that this Restaurant was started by a European lady & now it is run by one of her Indian acquaintances.

Thin crust Pizza @ Mediterraneo, Khajuraho

The food was the focus here & I was pleasantly shocked to find such good food at Khajuraho. Not too many restaurants even in Delhi can make as good thin crust pizza as Mediterraneo makes in their Wood fired Stone Oven. The pasta served here is ‘home made’ as well. Meats & Salads options r too good. For desserts in-house made crepes of different kinds hogged the limelight

Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy readin:

We ordered a Freshly prepared Pizza – Quattro Formaggi. It had a freshly made tomato sauce base & had toppings of 4 kinds of cheese – Gorgonzola (Blue cheese), Magor, Mozzarela & Parmigiana. As it is it is a vegetarian pizza but we added bacon as ‘add on’.

A section of the 4 cheese pizza @ Mediterraneo, Khajuraho

It was one of the best Pizzas I have had in maybe last 2 years. Each cheese section obviously had its own taste & flavor. The blue cheese was too good. For my Indian friends – let me warn u (in case u have not tried) that Blue cheese is quite pungent & unless u r used to it, u might not b able to appreciate it the first time.

Post this we tried Lamb Alla Cacciatora. It was chunks of lamb, ‘served with potatoes & prepared with natural vinegar & Italian herbs, according to an old Roman traditional recipe’ as per the description in menu card.

Lamb Alla Cacchiatora @ Mediterraneo, Khajuraho

Once again, it was a masterpiece. Soft, juicy, full of herb flavors but a bit chewy (enjoyably chewy). Super liked this as well.

We washed this all down with freshly squeezed Sweet lime juice – thick, pulpy, no ice no sugar & simply Divine (post our Summer time 4 hrs walk in the Sun).

fresh lime juice @ Mediterraneo Khajuraho

We ended our meal with a Panacotta con salsa di ciliegie. The Panacotta was made with milk cream, yoghurt & vanilla & was topped with a red cherry cinnamon sauce – simply awesome is the word for the intense panacotta. The sauce was slightly oversweet but still enjoyable.

Panacotta @ Mediterraneo, Khajuraho

Look forward to trying out other dishes at this restaurant in my future visits. This I wud say is a ‘must visit’ if u r in Khajuraho.